TRAUMATISED and unable to sleep for three days - this was the effect The Passion of The Christ had on one religious leader, who says the movie should never have been made.

Watching the torture Christ was subjected to in his final hours has proven too much for some.

Describing the film experience as worse than watching a bullfight and 'an outrage to Christianity', Rabbi Brian Fox, spiritual guide for Chester's Jewish community, said he was left shaking as the credits rolled.

'Imagine taking a large piece of meat and beating it for over two hours and covering everybody and everything in the vicinity with blood. At the end I felt like standing up and saying 'I am a rabbi, will somebody pray with me?' but I was shaking so much I couldn't. One young man in the foyer was deeply upset, he was trembling,' said Rabbi Fox, of Manchester's Menorah Synagogue.

'If you are a masochist, go and see it. There is nothing redeeming in this movie - it should never have been made. It was an attack on Christianity. If I was Christian I would be outraged because the message is that blood and gore are intrinsic to the faith. The Christianity that I know is one of love, compassion, decency, caring and devotion to God. This film said it was in some way demonic.'

However, Rabbi Fox disagrees with claims the film may be anti-Semitic.

'I'm not worried it will hurt Jewish-Christian relations,' he said. 'It is no more anti-Semitic than the occasional anti-Semitism in the New Testament in the Christian scriptures, but that can be explained from the age in which it came.'

He doesn't believe the movie will attract people to any faith.

'God help religion if we rely on Mel Gibson for our revival to fill our pews,' he said. 'I think we can do better through the message of love in attracting people than glorifying in gore.'

The Rev Joanna Jepson of St Michael's Church, Newton, thinks the film presupposes a certain amount of knowledge.

She said: 'Though in America Christians are being encouraged to take their non-Christian friends to see it, I would be reluctant to do it. I think it's an important film for Christians but it only makes sense if you understand who Jesus is and what His life was about and the film doesn't give you a good picture of that. Others would find it quite gruesome and unintelligible. I doubt it would attract people to the church.'

She said accusations of anti-Semitism are misinformed.

'It's quite clear in the film that Jesus lays down His life of His own accord,' she said. 'He died for the whole of humanity. He says 'Father forgive them for what they are doing', so for people to come out and start pointing the finger of blame is totally unfounded, has no grounding and misses the entire point of His death and resurrection, which is to forgive humanity for all their sins.'

Father Pancratios Sanders, of the Orthodox Church of Saint Barbara the Great Martyr, in Overleigh Road, says the film does not go far enough.

He said: 'As an orthodox Christian, it's all about the resurrection - the crucifixion is a waystation, a necessary means to an end, an essential part of the gospel story but not an end in itself. They've missed a golden opportunity to portray the glory of the resurrection more fully.'

Movie-lover the Rev Geoff Thompson of Kingsway Chapel is worried his congregation will not be prepared for the violence.

He said: 'It is a provocative picture which presents the reality of an execution in all its brutality, yet at the same time you are shown an image of Jesus which many people will find surprising.

'I think it will do us some good to see the reality of what a Roman execution was like - rather than the sanitised cross which most Christians think about. This was a film that left me with questions. Was this real? What did it all mean?'

He added: 'I asked our congregation how many of them had been to the cinema in the last six months. About 50% responded positively - but few had seen an 18 film. I am encouraging church members to go and see it - but with a caution. Cinemas in the 21st Century have wonderful sound systems, and films have become quite realistic. So if the last film you saw at the cinema was when you took your grandchildren to see The Lion King, please think about it. You can always wait and see it on DVD.'

Father Francis, of St Francis's Church, wants people to see the movie.

He said: 'The way I feel about this picture is very good. We have grown so far away from God that we need to be reminded what Jesus our God and brother and saviour did for us. 'It will make people like myself who are sinful realise what God has done for us, and I hope it will make others who are not of a faith ask 'Why did all this happen?' I know some people can't take violence, I appreciate that, but this is how it happened - it was so brutal.'

The Rev Garth Turner, of St Alban's Church, Tattenhall, found inconsistencies in the story may have detracted from the meaning.

He said: 'I found it was genuinely moving but I do have some criticisms - all four gospels in their passion narratives offer their own interpretation and Mel Gibson made a mistake in doing an amalgam of the four because you lose the actual thrust which any one interpretation is giving you. For example, John depicts Jesus in control of events, while Mark shows Him as a much more isolated and suffering figure doing things for us.'

Concerned about the effect on international discourse, he added: 'I didn't feel Mel Gibson made us like those Jewish leaders any more. We live in a post-holocaust world, many of us are very unhappy about the course on which the state of Israel and Zionism are set in their treatment of the Palestinians.

'Anything which makes criticism of those policies more difficult by making easier the accusation that they are anti-Semitic is to be regretted and it is arguable that Mel Gibson, by developing this theme, has exposed himself to that risk.'

Father Peter Sharrocks, of St Werburgh's Church said: 'So often our image of the passion and death of the Lord is sanitised and cleaned up in the various crucifixes and paintings used to depict the scenes.

'The film portrays the passion and death of the Lord with all the barbarity and cruelty one could imagine. It is a film - like the passion it portrays - to be endured rather than enjoyed. It is definitely not entertainment.'